National Blog

Congress Pulls Bait-and-Switch on USA FREEDOM Act

Yesterday, C4L sent a letter to members of the House Judiciary Committee strongly opposing the Manager's Amendment to H.R. 3361, the USA FREEDOM Act.

The original version of the act was sold to Americans as a way to rein in the NSA's domestic surveillance programs, and it would have been a first step towards real reform of the surveillance state since 9/11.

But, that's seldom the way Congress works. In an effort to "pass something this year," the Judiciary Committee watered down the legislation and it passed out of the committee unanimously.

What's more likely, that Rogers and Ruppersberger had a change of heart on the NSA? Or that Judiciary watered down the USA FREEDOM Act enough to the point that its "reform" is devoid of any substantive changes?

The bill is now earning plaudits from the same guys who said the original version would "make America less safe," and from the administration that never wanted you to know they were spying on you in the first place.